State targets executive orders

North Dakota lawmakers are looking to get tough on potential direct actions taken by President Barack Obama, proposing a bill to grant the Legislature the right to review, approve or reject any executive order issued by the president.

House Bill 1428 is designed to give legislators the power to suspend orders implemented unless the orders have been upheld by a vote of Congress.

Rep. Bob Skarphol (R-Tioga) is a co-sponsor of the bill and said some members of the Legislature don’t believe in governing by executive order. He said there are checks and balances ingrained into the government for a reason, and those balances should be followed.

“It’s a serious issue with us,” Skarphol said. “If our president wants to circumvent Congress, then we’ll see it the same way as if our governor wants to circumvent us.”

He said there were no direct issues that led to the proposition of the bill. Obama recently enacted executive actions on gun control, though not handing out any direct executive orders.

Skarphol said, however, there will be some gun laws that the Legislature would not allow the North Dakota police departments to enforce.

As far as hydraulic fracturing goes, no executive orders have been made to stop or limit the drilling practice, but Skarphol said there have been rumors of some in the past.

If the Obama administration does place an executive order on fracturing, under the bill, the state could choose to ignore the action until Congress passes an official law.

“That potential exists,” Skarphol said. “The EPA does some things that some of us think go beyond the consent.” …

Brilliant. There is still hope for the USA if States take back their rightful power. How the hell did we even get to a place where the federal government is at odds with what the states and the people want? It started with Paperclip if you ask me. The Nazi ideas did not end with the war. We imported them and they have been growing inch by inch, year after year, like a deadly black spider. If it moves slowly enough, you will stay asleep until it crawls into your mouth. Already it is on the bed. You heard the noise when it broke down the front door to your house, but it was dressed up like Osama Bin Laden. (An absurdly thin disguise, but you bought it.) You paid for it too, feeding it not only the $2.3 trillion it stole from your bank the day before, but also gleefully granting it an additional massive budget for war. It fed on terror and grew strong. It stung and paralyzed your prized guard dogs. It taunted you with torture and dazzled you with drones. It manipulated you with lessons learned from human experimentation, with drugs and thugs and deadly deception. It is now preparing for the final lunge. Don’t move. You see those little fangs and dripping venom, but don’t move. The spider says it is here to protect you. It sees a dangerous fly in your mouth. A terrorist fly. Ignore the conspiracy loonies. Trust the government. Open wide. The spider will protect you … to death.